Navy SEAL to plead not guilty to murder charge of ISIS teen

A US soldier stands guard near a school in the town of Iskandiriyah in Iraq's Babel province. (File/AFP)

A decorated Navy SEAL is facing charges of premediated murder and other offenses in connection with the fatal stabbing of a teenage ISIS prisoner under his care in Iraq in 2017 and the shooting of unarmed Iraqi civilians.

Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher is also accused of posing with the teen’s corpse at his re-enlistment ceremony. His attorney, Phil Stackhouse, says Gallagher will plead not guilty to all of the charges.

The case stands out because of the seriousness of the allegations against an elite special warfare operator and the fact that the prosecution’s case includes the accounts of fellow Navy SEALs, an extremely tight-knit group even by military standards.

Stackhouse said his client is being falsely accused by disgruntled SEALs who wanted to get rid of the demanding platoon leader.